Pulling children off the streets and into the classroom
Where would you like to go?

Udaipur District, Rajasthan, suffers from many economic and social crises. The girl child in India, specifically among tribal populations of Rajasthan, suffers from a great number of gender disparities, which serve as barriers to human development opportunities like education. Child labour is a rampant problem throughout India. A recent study found that almost half of child workers in Rajasthan never enroll in school and are illiterate.

the issues.

Our Adopt a Village projects in India take place in the Udaipur district in the northern state of Rajasthan, which suffers from many economic and social crises. Here, we’re currently focusing on issues of gender equality, sustainability, capacity building, community engagement and building on local knowledge. Although India only officially joined our list of Adopt a Village countries in 2008, we’ve already seen incredible progress in the three communities we work in: Lai Gow, Gayriawas and Kuliyo ki Baghal.

  • 44% of Indian children under the age of five are malnourished.
  • 34% of India’s population lives on less than $1 a day.
  • Only 50% of secondary school-aged girls and 63% of boys in India are enrolled in secondary school.
  • Children under 14 constitute around 3.6% of the total labour force in India.

lai gow, india

Changing Lives: Meet Sohan

Sohan is 12 years old and lives in the community of Lai with his parents and nine brothers and sisters. Although he’s still just a child, it wasn’t long ago that Sohan was working in the alcohol business in Udaipur district along with his younger brother. But after hearing news that a Free The Children school was going to be built in his native village, he and his brother decided to stop working and return home.

Now Sohan and his brother go to school each day instead of going to work in the alcohol business. Every morning, Sohan wakes up early, cleans the house and prepares breakfast for all of his 11 family members. Then he heads off to school. At 4:30, the school bell rings and Sohan heads home, does his chores and, finally, goes to bed.

Sohan is thrilled to be back home attending school, and grateful that he and his brother no longer have to work in Udaipar. He loves to study and he hopes to keep learning and end up doing some amazing development work in his community when he grows up. Sohan is also a good artist and actor, and he’s always eager to participate in school ceremonies and skits.

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get involved!

Want to make a difference in India? Here’s how you can:
1 Sign up for Brick by Brick to build a school in India. 2 Take the Vow of Silence for voiceless Indian children. 3 Join our Take Action Academy to explore the issues facing India.
You and your students can change things in India. Here’s how:
1 Adopt a Village in India as a class. 2 Hold a classroom awareness-raiser on India. 3 Explore the issues facing India with our issues library.
Show your kids that change in India is possible. Follow these steps:
1 Get the facts in our issues library and share them as a family. 2 Download our Family Kit on ways you can help at home. 3 Make a family donation to Adopt a Village in India.
Show your staff you care by making a difference in India. Here’s how you can:
1 Make a small donation on behalf of every employee. 2 Take a staff trip to India to bond while building a school. 3 Support kids taking action with an academy scholarship.